Friday, February 10, 2012

Fight Scenes and Promo

I'm not going to even try to encapsulate the last few months into a cohesive blog, way too much time has passed and I'm not a fan of "gloaty, look at me" writing - but I do want to take this opportunity to thank every festival programmer, blogger, reviewer, tweeter who has shown us nothing but support since Toronto til now. It's been an overwhelming experience to see the film play the way it has and I'm truly grateful every time I get to hear an audience freak out when one of our fighters...

[SPOILER]...Rully Santoso (Machete Gang #2) snaps his back against the wall...[END]

... it seriously makes my fucking night every time.

FIGHT SCENES...

So, I know I'm pretty late with these and they've been circulating for some time but here's some video updates in shiny HD. This film is reasonably violent, so please be warned before you view these clips.

HALLWAY FIGHT

FOLLOW ME

FOUR-ON-ONE

That's it for promo clips, coming up next week will be the first of many production blog videos covering the making of the film.

TWITTER

In a desperate bid to stop me from shamelessly advertising the film every 2mins on my own personal Twitter account, we've set up an official account @THERAIDMOVIE

If you should happen to tweet you can follow us and get links, images and info on any news items, reviews, press releases, tv / radio appearances that we make in the weeks leading up to the March 23rd release date. We'll also be running a competition as a giveaway for tickets to the Gala Premiere on March 21st in Jakarta (sorry Indonesian entrants only).

So please follow and spread the word.

AND FINALLY THE Q&A (Big one this time...)

Q. Sakuko Braca MontesNov 25, 2011 05:05 PM
I missed this movie at INAFFF but I saw The Raid trailer in INAFFF which is the Indonesian version. There are some additional scenes with different music plus big white block writing at the start of the trailer. I really love it! It's more hardcore than the Sony's version. Would you like to upload that one as well, so I can download it and loop it a whole day :D

Also may I know who is the music composer of that Indonesian version trailer? If possible I'd love to download it as well. The music is so badass!
A. The original composers are FAJAR YUSKEMAL and ARIA PRAYOGI, I've worked with them since Merantau. They are incredibly gifted and talented musicians who happen to have also been responsible for the sound design / mix alongside Bonar Abraham, Jack Arthur Sianjuntak and Sandika Widjaja. They did a fantastic job, this is a whole new level of sound design for an Indonesian film. They put in tireless hours and worked their bollocks off to get it done.

Q. DhietaNov 26, 2011 04:19 AM
AWESOME SIR. SIX THUMBS UP. Although I'm wondering will you put the scene of you as cameo on the movie trailer. :p
A. I was rewatching the film the other day and my cameo isn't actually there - I must have cut trimmed a few frames and not realized during the offline edit. Matt Flannery (DoP) is definitely in there tho. Keep your eyes peeled.

Q. atchaNov 27, 2011 06:25 AM
Why the release in Indonesia is postponed? I'm expecting to watch the original version before I'm leaving Indonesia for US. and if that happens, i guess I have simply have to watch Mike's scoring instead.. If it's released in US theaters.

We wanted to be able to be fair to all our distributors and have the option of going day and date the same in as many territories as possible. As the first film in Indonesian history to do this its a prestigious thing for us. It also helps us all work together to build a solid online campaign that will assist each others domestic promotion. And one last point, I'm a huge fan of Mike's work on this film. Both scores (original / US) are fantastic pieces that totally compliment the film. I'm beyond proud with the results.

Q. mixolydianDec 2, 2011 03:32 PM
Sometime I wondering how if gareth being once of the victum ikos punch in some scene,... but maybe the title problaby will be Rama vs Giant.....hahaha

A. True story, after Merantau I spoke with Iko about not holding back too much when it came to body hits. We were in a gym and I just told him to go for it and hit my in the stomach a couple of times and see how fast and hard he can hit but with a snap so that it doesn't "wind" the opponent. I figured we could do a practice session and he could use me as a punch bag. First attempt and three punches in that sneaky little fucker with his miserable aim lands a low blow straight to a delicate area. I doubled up almost coughing a ball.

So to answer your question, no I'll never fight in any of the films. Beyond my fear of scrotal bruising however, I'm also a terrible fighter - it takes skill, precision, rhythm and perfect timing to be a good screen fighter. I'm in my element sitting down, watching a tv monitor and telling those incredibly talented people you see on screen to "do it again!"

Q. Monik AsenDec 3, 2011 07:15 AM
I want to catch this movie at JAFF this December but I need to ask you first. The one which will be played there is the same version than the one played at INAFFF or will it be the much censored version?
A. Oops, sorry for the late reply on this one. As you probably already saw at JAFF, it was the same version we played at INAFFF.

Q. danDec 19, 2011 01:15 AM
all people ask how you meet iko at interview, but no one ask how you meet Yayan Ruhian, How actualy you meet Yayan and know his talent at choreography?

A. Thank you, finally! Yayan was actually part of the group assembled by Pak Edwel to handle choreography on MERANTAU. I had no intention at the time of casting him as Eric in that film. Not for a long time actually. We had allocated roles to all the choreography team (Pak Edwel, Sugeng and Berry) but hadn't found a part for Yayan yet. We knew Eric was a role that required a 50/50 split with dramatic performance and fighting skills and we searched high and low for someone to fill that spot. Thankfully Anne, my line-producer, suggested we give Yayan a try seeing as he had been the person training with Iko for that fight scene since pre-pro started.

We gave Yayan a ridiculously long 5 minute monologue to audition for the role, this monologue ended up being cut from the film (we didn't even shoot it) but Yayan's audition blew us away and we knew instantly he had a natural gift for performance as well as beating the shit out of people. Yayan truly is one of the nicest people I've worked with and is an incredibly smart, articulate man. His knowledge of Silat both in a technical and a philosophical level is astounding, and I'm so happy he is such a major part of the Merantau Films family.

Q. Andy in San Diego and ElsewhereJan 21, 2012 11:08 AM
Uh. Holy. Fuck. Hurry up and drop this in the US!

Alvina EFeb 2, 2012 08:18 PM
Mr. Gareth! When will it be released in the US? Been waiting for this awesome movie since forever--we're dying to see it!:)

mcNov 28, 2011 07:24 PM
please tell us that it's coming out before April, that seems so long to wait, the wait is already unbearable. this movie is on my mind all day, everyday!
A. I'm presuming you're all based in the US - thankfully the awesome guys at SONY PICTURES CLASSICS will be putting the film out in cinemas on March 23rd in the US! Day and date the same as our Indonesian release. Please go out and support it and prove there's a market for martial arts cinema!

Q. Hameerudin ZawawiJan 28, 2012 09:21 PM
Gareth, when can we see this in Malaysia? The movie's not listed as an upcoming film in local cinemas yet, unfortunately. I hope that's not the case. Please please please bring it here.
We have sold to Malaysia, but I'm not sure of their release plans yet. I'm hoping to put a list of territories and release dates up soon once I get confirmation.

Q. ZakamoFeb 4, 2012 12:58 AM
Great Trailer.... I am desperatly waiting till I can get to see this un the UK eiter at the cinema or on DVD. Also every friend I link to your trailers are too.
Cinema release for The Raid in UK is in May. But I'm going to be attending two festivals in 2 weeks time, the Jameson Dublin Film Festival and Glasgow FilmFour Frightfest both on the 25th February!

Q. Movebee TrailersFeb 7, 2012 06:48 PM
This is a great video nice work! I really appreciate the work you guys are doing keep it up!

If you like movie trailers you might as well like my blogspot check it :)
http://movebee-trailers.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the support!

Q. Afac3ristFeb 9, 2012 04:05 AM
Where can i buy/see this movie ...the action is amaizing.
I'm from romania...but if i can pay for it online or if the film will come to a film festival in romania..Please let me know
A. Again, for Romania I'm not sure of the release plan. I'll get back to you on it once I have any information.

And lastly, thanks to Zulfikar Akbar for your kind words. It means a lot.

as far as I know, the difference between the US version and the Indonesian version is the music/score only. So how come there are 2 additional Hollywood crew making changes on the color timer and handling the post production? Does it mean the US version will have a new touch on the color and the finished editing compare to the Indonesian version?

I also found couple of names, Kier Lehman & Brian Richards, but both are working in music department. So I assume they were included because of the whole new music/score for the US release.

Hi Gareth,today I just watched a movie in XXI and you know what, there's no trailer for The Raid played yet. I mean come on, here we've got the trailer for the new Resident Evil movie which will come out in September! We also got a cool big advertising board for Battleship standing tall at Blitz Megaplex which will come out in May. The Raid? None. Nada. Not even a poster! It's less than 6 weeks to the big premiere mate. Do Merantau Films think they can just rely 100% to what Sony can pull up in terms of marketing in their territory to bring effects to our home? I can assure you mate, internet hype of The Raid haven't reached the general audience yet. Many Indonesian moviegoers who aren't really active in the internet are still blind to this movie.

Hope we will see all the marketing stuff - posters, ad board, and most importantly the trailer - showing up here soon.

2. Is there any plan to have Indonesian old icon of martial movie to be cameo in Berandal? I believe some people want to see 'Barry Prima', 'Rhoma Irama', 'Sandi Nayoan', etc for even 2 second in the movie. ;p

3. Is there any plan to have THE RAID as front cover for any Indonesian movie magazine (e.g. Cinemags, M2)? Being a front cover probably is more effective than having multiple TV Spot;

4. I was amazed by the sound effect when I watch THE RAID in INAFFF. Do you create your own sound effect or using the existing library of existing software? Is it possible to present the process in the Production Blog?